Page 58 of The Alpha's Forced Pregnant Mate

This time, Danny and I went for a walk away from the rest of the wolves. Emotions were sky high with Whitney openly claiming me as her mate, the rumors of her pregnancy, and all the adrenaline falling off from the battle.

It felt like old times…yet it didn't. I had killed something between Danny and me, and whatever it was was dead and buried, never coming back. But maybe an equilibrium could be found. Hate, but without violence. It wasn't what either of us had envisioned for our friendship, but it was what we had to work with.

Again, Danny spoke first. "The pack only mobilized because of Whitney. I'd never have been able to get the Red Canines out if it had just been you."

It hurt, but I'd expected it. "No surprise there."

Danny sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He looked tired, but also heartsick. "Come on, Man. Can't you see how fucked up that is? You were my second less than a year ago, and now the majority of my wolves want you dead."

I shrugged one shoulder, letting his words roll off me like water. "It is what it is."

The silence stretched, broken only by the sound of our boots in the leaves.

"How…" I licked my lips before trying again. "How is Naomi?"

Danny turned on me in an instant, teeth bared, voice venomous, "Don't you dare speak her fucking name."

"Or what?" I shot back, refusing to be intimidated by the man who'd once been my closest friend.

He growled, and I saw his hand tighten into a fist at his side. My old packmate was itching for a fight, but I wasn't going to give him one. Not today.

We stared at each other for several long moments, the silence between us growing thicker by the second. Danny was breathing hard, rage radiating off him in waves, but he made no move toward me. Finally, I sighed and took a step back.

"I don't want to fight you," I said, forcing myself to keep my tone calm.

"Then leave. You're not welcome here anymore."

"I thought you wanted to talk. Let me guess, you expected me to grovel?"

"You should grovel." Danny snapped.

"I won't. But…I'll apologize if you'll hear me out."

Danny said nothing, but his eyes narrowed slightly. I took his silence as acceptance, and continued, "It was wrong to try and mess with Naomi. It was a stupid decision made in a fit of anger. I hadn't forgiven you for changing the pack so much—hell, I don't think I ever will—but trying to make you see your mate was vulnerable was one of the worst moves I could have made. It was a child's decision, not a man's. Not an Alpha’s."

"If that was an apology, it was pretty shitty. You almost killed her. You've got some fucking nerve coming here after what you did."

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my temper in check. "You're right. I've got a lot of nerve. But I'm also sorry. And I hope someday you'll be able to forgive me for being a selfish asshole. I know I screwed up, Danny."

His jaw clenched, and he looked like he was ready to attack me again.

"It doesn't change the fact that I ordered the poisoning, but I swear to you that I told them to use a mild sedative. I never, not in a million years, would have ordered them to use wolfsbane. But…I guess we see now why they did."

Danny stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean?"

"You must have been fighting elsewhere, but the ringleaders of that demon group were Rick and Tanner."

Danny sucked in a breath, his face growing pale. "Rick and Tanner? I knew they were the ones that hurt Naomi, but they were possessed? How didn't you see it before all of this shit went down?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but if I had to walk Danny through the truth, I would. "Danny. Man. Think about what you just asked me. They were possessed when they were Red Canines…when you were their Alpha. So if you want to ask that question, then you need to ask yourself too."

"Shit." Danny cursed under his breath, rubbing a hand over his face. "You're right. Shit. I'm so fucking stupid. Why didn't I realize something was wrong? They were my wolves."

"We all missed it. And we both fucked up as Alphas by doing so—you were obsessed with Naomi, and I was obsessed with revenge and getting the Reckless Stalkers started."

"It was right under our noses."

I nodded, unable to think of anything else to say. We both looked like idiots, but I wasn't going to throw Danny under the bus anymore. We'd both messed up.

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